Show I coil MILLS ON STAND Story Told l Superintendent I of Military Academy EFFORTS TO STOP HAZING Declares That Up to About One Year Ago There Was Great Difficulty in Securing Evidence Prom Hen Who Were Hazed as Regulations Made I I Hazcrs and Hazed Subject to i PunishmentThis Bcgulation Had Been Revised Decided Change for I Better in Regard to Exercising I West Point N Y Jan 12Col W L Mlllssuperlntcndent C the United States Military academy at West Point occupied the witness stand during dur-ing the morning and afternoon session of the Congressional Investigating committee with the exception of nl few minutes during which Horace G Boos testified that the evidence given by him before the military court on December De-cember 26th was correctly reported on 1 the record The committee will hold three sessions dally during the greater part of next week Col A TJ Mills superintendent of the academy said that ho graduated from West Point In lS8 June 1880 During I his experience as a cadet he said fourth classmen were required to be obedient and respectful to the upperclassmen upper-classmen but not In the same manner which they would be obliged to recognize the authority of an academy officer Did they have class scrapping committees com-mittees then asked Judge Smith They did not Did they have fist fights to a finish with referees seconds and tliiiekcep crsNot Not that I can recall I think there were only three fights during my academic term These were of an Impromptu nature and I think the contestants were all first class men SURVEJLIANCB OP CADETS Judce Smith then asked a number of questions bearing on the surveillance surveil-lance of the movementH of cadets at night and elicited the Information that no officer Is supposed to be awake all night In order to see that the cadets dont get outside of the post reservation t Gen Dick asked the witness many questions bearing on tho summary expulsion ex-pulsion from the academy of former Cadets Bender and Lane in February 1899 The men had been guilty of breaking Into the executive building where they falsified the records of demerits de-merits They took off demerits from the records of thirteen Cadets including Includ-ing their own but did not add demerIts de-merits to the records of any others Lane confessed his part in the affair and alsoowned up to his having assisted as-sisted in burglarizing the cadet commissary This confession was made to Superintendent Mills who dismissed dis-missed the men PJGIJIT AMONG CADETS Judge Smith then asked the superintendent superin-tendent about the action of the authorities to suppress fighting or to punish those persons who took part In these affairs Col Mills said that despite the vigilance of the academic authorities those fights were kept solely within the knowledge of the cadets themselves Ho said that only two fights had come to his knowledge and they were made through the fact that two cadets had to go to the hospital Col Mills told the committee that cadets who had been fighting did not usually show marks of punishment punish-ment that might attract the attention of the ollicers Col Mills said that he believed fighting fight-ing would cease In the academy and ho felt that the best method of abolishing abolish-ing fighting and hazing would be the creation of a sentiment among time cadets against such practices and lie slated that he was striving to stir up such a sentiment ONE DIFFICULTY The superintendent Informed the mlttee that up to about a year ago there was great difficulty In securing evidence from men who were hazed as tim regulations made hazers and hazed subject to punishment As the regulation had been revised so that It Is no longer a punishable offense to be hazed time Colonel said that the fourth clnsmon could now complain without Incriminating themselves This In i t great measure he said would tend to make the fourth classman class-man resist any attempts at hazing The witness then stated that there was a decided change for the better In regard re-gard to the exercising during last summers encampment SCHEMES NOT WISE What would you think of a scheme of administerIng oath against hazing haz-ing to a cadet when he gets his appointment ap-pointment asked Mr Dlgga I should not think It wise There la a dlfiiculty In defining hazing Chaffing and quizzing new cadets Is not hazing replied the Colonel In reply to another question the witness wit-ness said Wlillc 1 do not regard flghllnK mit lie academy a a trilling alVatr I do not think it would be wise to change the existing rule POINTED QUESTIONS Mr DrlgRS said I have heard it said in several purls of the country that fighting Is traditional at West Point Now I want to ask Js It true that you West Point officers nro so Imbued with the traditions of lighting that you dont care to have it otopped XJIUL in vui iiiiiiij iiuk 11 uu tIme wltnccH with sonic feeling and the officer of the academy arc the ones who want to put it down Fighting Fight-ing Is not traditional here 1 am very strongly opposed to It Ix it not cowardly on the part of time upper classmen to call out fourth classmen to fight against men who have bettor physical advantages Yes I think It is wrong and to a certain extent cowardly was the rePly re-Ply HUITZDERS DISMISSAL Coy Mills wag questioned as to the dlHmlssal 01 Cadet Hultzlcr Ilullzler had been reported 41 limes by officers and on these reports he received 65 demerits de-merits and on 7G reports from cadets he received 152 demerit making In all U10 demerits Col Mills was asked If ha had ever found cadet officers to ha partial In their reports said he never In his career as superintendent had a suspicion of a cadet officer having abused hjs authority Chairman DIpk said the number of demerits given Hultzler on reports of cadets 127 as against 07 on reports from officers seemed so greatly out of proportion to the other cases on the list that hq thought It needed some explanation ex-planation Col Mills said Huitzler was a very careless man and that the various reports re-ports would show his This witness said he had Hultzler up before him frequently He did not think Huitzler had been unfairly treated The witness said that areport of the Inquiry which gave an Interview with him as printed In a > New York paper on December 3 IdOO was Incorrect and cast a rejection on him as superintendent superin-tendent of the academy At the conclusion of the Colonels testimony lie court adjourned until Monday |